`Inside Tv Land' Charts Medium's Racial Divide

Television

February 1, 2002|By David Kronke, Los Angeles Daily News

Heavy-handedness isn't necessary in Inside TV Land: African-Americans in Television. The facts of minority tube obscurity speak for themselves. The inequalities are reported with equanimity. And the history of the medium's racial divide makes for a fascinating bit of critical self-analysis, as TV puts itself on the couch and finds itself wanting.

At the beginning of each episode, host Ron Glass intones, "From the time television cameras were first turned on, the small screen has showcased the talent and artistry of African-Americans in some of the most memorable scenes in television drama, some of the great show-stopping performances in TV variety and some of comedy television's funniest moments." That's one of those broad, meaningless and hyperbolic statements that leads you to fear that what will follow will be superficial or jumbled.

Fortunately, that's not the case: It's a relatively well-researched, concisely executed documentary series with a wealth of clips from shows both famous and obscure.

On TV Land tonight at 9, the first episode examines how minority involvement in variety series has variously inspired controversy or network timidity. It boasts the most surprising factoids, perhaps because since the variety show has fallen from favor, so has its history. Flip Wilson, TV's first black superstar, is discussed, as are Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock's appearances on Saturday Night Live, Arsenio Hall's talk show and the sketch comedy show In Living Color.

The episode on black actors in TV drama, airing Feb. 15 at 9 p.m., is probably the bleakest. There currently exists no predominantly black-theme drama on any network. The last attempt, City of Angels, was at best a noble failure.

The episode charts the high points, such as the '60s issue-oriented drama East Side West Side, the first drama to feature a regular black cast member (Cicely Tyson). The program also looks at I Spy, which was the first to feature a black star (Bill Cosby). The network resisted having Cosby in the role, but kept him after the producer and co-star Robert Culp threatened to walk.

The news is a little better in Feb. 22's 9 p.m. comedy episode. The leap from Beulah, about a lovable maid, and Amos and Andy to the more progressive days of Julia and The Jeffersons is essayed.

But bitterness about the fact that The Cosby Show was the one megahit that the networks didn't try to endlessly emulate (as they have with the all-white Friends) bubbles up, particularly in light of the fact that, at the beginning of the most recent TV season, only seven shows on all six networks featured predominantly African-American casts, four of those from UPN's Monday-night lineup.